THOUGHTS ON SIN
I haven’t posted much lately. Last week was crazy busy. And lately I’ve spend much of my thought time away from my laptop and blog.
But here’s some ideas on sin…
First, I don’t believe that sin is mainly actions. I believe that sin is a condition with which we are afflicted, and ’sinful’ actions are but a symptom of that condition. Sin is a sickness that plagues humanity. It is not what we do, but rather who we are, a depraved state. Our world reflects who we are in this fallen nature, this ‘condition.’ This sinful condition can be defined as our wills taking priority over God’s – that is, us taking God’s place. It is an attitude, a mindset with which we are possessed.
But I do not necessarily believe that our sinful condition should go untreated. The Holy Spirit can be the remedy. Yes, I do hold to a kind of sanctification doctrine, but then again, I’m very Methodist.
I don’t think we can ever be cured in this life, but I do believe that the Holy Spirit can work in us to make us more Christ-like, more Godly… to see the others as God sees them… with unfailing love… is that not after all the message of the Gospel?
February 24, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Hello! This has absolutely nothing to do with your post, though I do think it is good. I don’t know if you got my email that had my mailing address in it or not, but I sent it a couple of weeks ago, and I have not gotten any info yet. Also, I am planning to drive to Waco to visit the school during my spring break. Can you set up a visit for me on March 18th [a Tuesday]?
February 25, 2008 at 11:41 am
So … what is a “condition of being” than a set of actions? I mean, if sin isn’t in our actions, where is it? Our minds? Our attitudes? All of which make any difference at all through action …
I guess my question is whether or not you think actions matter in this regard. I mean, a sinful person is just a person who does sinful things over a period of time. If that’s a “sinful condition” then fine, but that’s why there’s grace. It’s also why you can ask for forgiveness on your deathbed … sinfulness is the summation of your past experience in your actions.
Does that make ANY kind of sense?
February 26, 2008 at 11:53 pm
First, I want to say that I’m still here. School is really busy right now… words cannot explain.
Kelli, Yes, I don’t know what happened, I’ll find out but either way, I’ll make sure you have something by either the end of this week or the beginning of next. Sorry, it’s taking so long. I will set you up a visit. I have classes that day… so if you want YOU CAN COME WITH ME TO CLASS!!!!! Yay!!!! Part of the tour thingy is to sit in on a class, so you can come with me if you want! But you will have the info really soon… sorry it’s taken so long.
Chris, in answer to your question… and yes, you are making sense, so I’ll try to do the same… I believe that our condition of sin, is largely based on attitude… that is we are prone to idolatry (=sin) and therefore, depravity… We replace God’s will with our own… this leads to actions, which can be considered sinful. Because of the fall, we inherited this condition of sin (our way instead of God’s way)… this is who we are because all of creation was thrown out of whack because of the fall.
But the actions themselves are not the root, origin or cause of sin – at least not as I understand it. Rather they are the result of sin. When we think of sin, I think it is incorrect to work for a type of behavior modification, we must first begin with the sinful nature and surrender to God.
I’m basing a lot of my ideas here on the book of Romans. There is this type of original sin doctrine in which we are sinful, not because of our actions, but because of our state of being. This, in turn, leads to actions. So I think actions are important, but must be viewed as a symptom of a fallen state, rather than as the cause of sin themselves…. does that make sense?
February 27, 2008 at 9:31 am
Thanks! I definitely understand being busy with school. And I would love to go to class with you. Thanks for checking on the info.
February 28, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Katie Bentley emailed me about scheduling the visit. She wants to know which class I want to visit, so which class are you in: Texts & Traditions 1, Preaching 1, Story of Christian Missions, Scriptures 2 (minor, major prophets), Intro to Christian Scriptures, or
Scriptures 3 (Gospels & Acts)?
February 28, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Just tell her we know each other and you want to go to class with me (tell her it’s all good with me). I have Hebrew (10:30am-12:00pm). If you want something more enjoyable (and I think a root canal would actually qualify) you can some with me to Scriptures 4 (Romans – Revelation) with Todd Still (1:00pm – 2:20pm) – that’s actually my favorite class this semester.
But yeah, just tell her you know me and want to go with me – the courses she listed to you are ‘default’ ones that professors have said they’d facilitate for prospectives… but Still would love for you to come to our class.
Scriptures 4 is my suggestion!